Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Techniques

Words: 460

Pages: 2

Open Document

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass depicts the humiliating scenes of dehumanization of slaves. However, throughout the text using knowledge, he shows the readers the road from slavery to freedom. Therefore, Douglass utilizes several rhetorical devices such as simile, repetition and parallelism to convey his attitude about The
American Promise.
In the beginning of the text, Douglass uses simile to dehumanize slaves by comparing them to horses. He adopts an serious and depressing tone in order to tell the reader the slave’s lack of knowledge. Douglass appeals to the reader by emphasizing how the slave masters treats the slaves as farm animals. As an example, “Larger part of the slaves know as little of their …show more content…
In addition, Douglass uses repetition to represent the insults given from masters to the slaves. He appeals to the readers by pinpointing how the masters would also dehumanize the children. For example, “The children were then called, like so many pigs and like so many pigs

they would come and devour the mush.” (30) , which depicts repetition by showing how the masters would make it seem as If they were wild animals who were hungry. In other words,
Douglass’ attitude towards the American Promise was disturbing because as everyone was suppose to be treated the same, slaves on the other hand were being dehumanized by being referred as wild farm animals.
Also, Douglass uses parallelism to tell the readers how slaves were humiliated by the masters. He adopt an sadden tone in order to explain the hatred by master towards the slaves.
Douglass appeals to the readers by if making clear how cruel the masters would be to the slaves.
For instance, “They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it.” (18) , which depicts parallelism by showing how masters would

What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July Rhetorical Analysis

Fourth of July?”, Frederick Douglass wanted to convince people of the wrongfulness of slavery and also to make an argument for the abolition of slavery to Northern whites. At the invitation of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Frederick Douglass delivered this speech on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York (Faigley 351). Frederick Douglass was a former slave, so he was able to share first-hand experiences and was therefore, considered very credible in this subject. Douglass’ speech is an…

Words 1001 - Pages 5

Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Appeal Of Narrative

As you can see, Frederick Douglass uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos, the rhetorical mode of narrative, and ______ in his narrative. Douglass uses these techniques to show how a man was made a slave and how a slave was made a man. Douglass finally turns into a man when he rebelled against Mr. Covey who abused and used his wrath on Douglass. Douglass act of rebelling against Mr. Covey shows that any slave can become a “man” if he or she chooses to fight back against the master instead of being…

Words 93 - Pages 1

Covey And Douglass

"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" (1845) and "My Bondage and My Freedom" (1855) are two narratives that detail Frederick Douglass's encounter with Edward Covey, a notorious enslaved breaker. Douglass's narrative is intense, emphasizing the physical and psychological toll Covey took on him, asserting his humanity in the face of dehumanizing oppression. "My Bondage and My Freedom" presents a more reflective account, focusing on the psychological dynamics and Douglass's…

Words 1416 - Pages 6

Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, and American Slaves,” comparison is a powerful rhetorical device that allows him to vividly depict the honors of slavery and highlight the contradictions inherent in the institution. As a black man, Douglas spent the rest of his life as a slave. He mentions more than once in the book that he desires freedom. By juxtaposing the brutal reality of slavery with elements of freedom and humanity, Douglas appeals to his audience's compassion and moral outrage…

Words 605 - Pages 3

Fredrick Douglass

Echoes of Fortitude: Frederick Douglass’ Journey and the Unyielding Struggle for Equity In Fredrick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the author shares his devastating yet heroic journey through slavery and his abolitionist movements towards a more just society for Black people. Douglass’ rhetoric serves as a poignant testament to the power of resilience in the face of oppression. His relentless pursuit of justice and freedom for himself and other Black slaves underscores the…

Words 1297 - Pages 6

Essay Mr Rennie

ENTERTEXT Identity as Cultural Production in Andrea Levy's Small Island Author: Alicia E. Ellis Source: EnterText, “Special Issue on Andrea Levy 9,” (2012): 69-83. Abstract Andrea Levy's Small Island (2004) presents a counter-history of the period before and after World War II (1939-1945) when men and women from the Caribbean volunteered for all branches of the British armed services and many eventually immigrated to London after the war officially ended in 1945. Her historical novel moves…

Words 7826 - Pages 32